Rotting deer carcasses are a ubiquitous omen of danger on Wisconsin’s roadways. At any moment, they warn, a deer might dart into your car's path.

But just how often do drivers and deer meet, and where is the danger most present? For a look, we mapped nearly 25,000 collisions with deer logged by law enforcement authorities over the past two years.

For an interactive version of our map, and to see the date and time of each crash, click here.

Our map relies on 2014 and 2015 crash data from the state Department of Transportation. The scope is limited to crashes where global coordinates were logged by law enforcement authorities using state software, or about 65 percent of all reported crashes involving deer in 2014 and 2015. In some areas of the state, such as Rock, Sauk and Sheboygan counties, many incidents weren't logged with coordinates using state software, creating vivid gaps in the statewide portrait of crashes.

We only mapped crashes from the past two years because in each of those years law enforcement authorities had logged at least half of all crashes with coordinates that make producing maps easier and more precise than by mapping addresses and intersections. In 2013, about 14 percent of all reported crashes involving deer included coordinate information and before that, the rate was in the single digits.

We thought the map might help readers better understand and avoid deer crashes. More generally, the state figures show that deer crashes often occur:

Around sunrise and sunset, when deer are the most active and weary drivers are traveling to and from work

In June each year, after fawns are born and must quickly learn the hazards of fast-moving objects with bright lights

On county highways, often near the outskirts of cities and the transition to rural life

Keegan Kyle is an investigative reporter and occasional producer of interactive graphics for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. He can be reached at kkyle@gannett.com or on Twitter @keegankyle.